Customer Management

Overview

Customer Management is where you keep track of every person and business that walks through your garage doors. It gives you a complete picture of each customer -- their contact details, vehicles, service history, spending, and every message you have sent them.

Why does this matter? Because knowing your customers means better service. When a regular walks in, you can instantly see what work has been done before, which vehicle they are bringing in, and how much they have spent with you. No more asking "Have you been here before?" or digging through paper files.

autoGMS automatically builds customer profiles as bookings are created. Staff can also add a customer and vehicle directly while creating a standalone estimate, without making a booking first. Every completed booking adds to the customer's history, and the system tracks revenue per customer so you always know who your most valuable clients are.

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How to Access

1. From your dashboard, open the sidebar menu and select your garage.
2. Navigate to Customers in the garage menu.
3. You will land on the Customers page, which shows the customers registered to your garage.

Business accounts still have their own dedicated workflow and page for fleet and invoicing tasks (more on this below).

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Key Features at a Glance

Feature	What It Does
Customer List	Browse customers from a resizable left-hand directory with name and phone details
Add from Estimates	Create a customer and vehicle inline while building an estimate, with no booking required
Customer Profile	View the selected customer's contact info, vehicles, history, attachments, and communication in the same workspace
Search and Filters	Find customers by contact, business, tax, or vehicle details; filter by customer type, status, vehicle type, last visit, and spend
Vehicle Management	Add, edit, and delete vehicles for any customer; track mileage and license plates
Booking History	See every past and current booking for a customer, with service details and pricing
Communication History	Review email delivery and SMS/WhatsApp activity for a customer
Attachments and Documents	Upload and manage files like warranty documents, ID copies, and inspection photos
Business Accounts	Dedicated view for fleet and business customers with invoicing tools
Bulk Import	Import up to 500 customers at once from a CSV file
Marketing Preferences	Control whether a customer receives marketing messages

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The Customer Directory

What You Will See

When you open the Customers page, you will see a customer directory sidebar on the left containing:

• A page header with the title, description, and an Import customers button.
• A directory card with a title ("Customer Directory"), a customer count, and a short description.
• A search field pinned at the top of the directory card.
• A Filters button that opens a filter panel. When filters are active, the button shows how many filters are applied (e.g., "Filters (2)") and each active filter appears as a removable chip below the toolbar.
• A customer list where each row shows:

Sidebar Row	Description
Name	The customer's full name (or business name if no personal name is set)
Secondary line	Phone number for individuals; phone number and business name for business accounts
Icon	A phone icon for individuals, a building icon for business accounts

The active customer is highlighted with a blue background and a blue left-edge indicator.

• A pagination bar at the bottom of the directory if there are more than 24 customers. This shows the current page, total pages, and previous/next buttons.

Desktop Layout

On desktop and larger tablets, Customers uses a two-column split-view layout:

• The left column contains the customer directory with search, filters, and the customer list. You can make this column narrower or wider.
• The right column fills the remaining space and shows the selected customer's full profile, including tabs for Overview, Bookings, Attachments, and Communication.
• Both columns scroll independently within the same viewport.
• If you open /customers with no customer selected, the right panel shows an empty state prompting you to choose one from the directory.
• If you open a direct customer link and that customer is not on the current sidebar page, the selected customer is pinned at the top of the directory with a "Selected customer" label and an "Outside this page" note. This pin disappears when you search, filter, or navigate pages.

How do I resize the customer list?

1. Move your pointer over the vertical divider between the customer directory and the profile.
2. Drag the divider left or right until both panes are comfortable to use.

For keyboard control, press Tab until the divider is focused, then use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys. Press Home for the narrowest directory or End for the widest.

Good to know: autoGMS keeps both panes within safe widths. If you expand or collapse the main app sidebar, the customer workspace automatically readjusts so the profile does not become too narrow. The resize divider is only shown in the desktop split view.

Mobile Layout

On mobile, the customer directory is a list-first experience:

• You start on the customer list (the directory card takes the full screen).
• Tapping a customer opens their profile as a full-page detail view with a back button.
• Using the back button or your browser/app back action returns you to the list.

Viewing a Customer

Click a customer in the sidebar to load their profile. On desktop, the profile opens in the right-hand panel without leaving the page. On mobile, the profile opens as a full-page detail view.

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Searching and Filtering

Quick Search

There is a search bar at the top of the directory card. Type any of the following to find a customer:

• Full customer name or business name
• Email address or phone number, including international formats
• VAT/TRN number
• Vehicle make or model
• Number plate, VIN, chassis number, or fleet ID

The search is debounced -- results update after a brief pause as you type. The page resets to page 1 whenever you change your search term.

Filters

Click the Filters button below the search bar to open the filter panel. The panel floats over the list, so results stay visible and update as you change filters. Available filters:

• Customer Type -- Switch between All Types, Business, or Individual customers.
• Customer Status -- Show Active or Inactive customers.
• Vehicle Type -- Show customers with vehicles of one or more selected types, such as Sedan, SUV, Truck, Van, or Motorcycle.
• Last Visit -- Filter by how recently a customer visited: Last Week, Last Month, Last 3 Months, Last Year, or Never Visited.
• Total Spend -- Filter by spend range, from Under 100 through Over 5,000 in your garage's currency.
• Tags -- Pick one or more of the tags used on your customers. This filter only appears when your garage has customer tags.

The Filters button shows the number of active filters in parentheses (e.g., "Filters (2)"). Each active filter also appears as a chip below the toolbar -- click a chip to remove that filter, or click Clear all to remove every filter at once. Filters, search, and sorting are kept in the page URL, so refreshing or sharing the link keeps the same filtered view.

Good to know: Filters and search work together. For example, you can search for "Ahmed" while filtering for Business customers who visited in the last month. When search or filters are active, the page resets to page 1 and the pinned-customer feature is disabled.

Sorting

Open Sort to order customers by name, last visit, total spend, total bookings, date added, customer type, or contact. You can choose ascending or descending order.

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Customer Profiles

Opening a Profile

Click any customer in the directory to open their full profile. On desktop, this happens inside the right-hand panel of the split-view workspace. On mobile, it opens as a dedicated full-page detail view with a back button.

What You Will See

The profile view has a header card at the top, a tab bar below it, and tab content below that. You navigate between sections by clicking the tabs rather than scrolling through one long page.

Header Section

The header card contains:

• Customer name (or business name for business accounts)
• Account type -- Business accounts show a "Business Account" label
• "Active since" date showing when the customer was created (e.g., "Mar 2024")
• "Last booking" date showing their most recent non-cancelled booking with a relative date (e.g., "Jan 15, 2025 (2 months ago)")
• Back button -- Shown on mobile and for technicians viewing a direct customer link

Below the header, there are four stat cards arranged in a grid:

Card	What It Shows
Total spend	Lifetime revenue from this customer's completed bookings
Completed services	Number of bookings that generated revenue
Average job value	Average price per completed service
Vehicles	Number of vehicles registered to this customer

On mobile, the stats display in a compact 2x2 grid centered below the header.

Good to know: Revenue figures include bookings in Confirmed, In-Service, and Completed status. The system uses the finalized invoice price when available, falling back to the booking price.

Profile Tabs

Below the header, a tab bar lets you switch between five views:

Tab	What It Shows
Overview	Contact information and vehicles
Bookings	Booking history and OTC purchase history
Estimates	Every estimate created for the customer
Attachments	Uploaded files and documents
Communication	Message history across all channels

The active tab is reflected in the page URL (for example, ?tab=bookings), so you can share direct links to a specific section of a customer's profile.

On desktop, the Bookings, Estimates, Attachments, and Communication tabs use the same searchable table layout. If a table is wider than the available space, scroll it horizontally; the Actions column stays visible so you can use Details, Open, View, or Download without losing the row you are working on.

Overview Tab

The Overview tab shows two sections: Contact Information and Vehicles.

Contact Information displays and lets you edit all personal and business details:

• First name and last name
• Email address (clickable to send an email)
• Phone number (clickable to call, with a WhatsApp button beside it)
• Account type (Individual or Business)
• Status (Active or Inactive)
• Business name (only shown for Business accounts)
• TRN / tax registration number (only shown for Business accounts)
• Country
• Notes (free-text field for any internal notes about the customer)

To edit contact information:

1. Click the Edit button in the top-right corner of the Contact Information card.
2. Update any fields you need to change.
3. Click Save Profile to apply your changes, or Cancel to discard them.

Good to know: The phone number field supports international formats. When you edit a customer's phone number, you can select the country code from a dropdown. The WhatsApp button next to the phone number opens a direct message to that customer in WhatsApp.

Vehicles shows all vehicles registered to the customer. Each vehicle displays:

The default vehicle appears first. The remaining vehicles are ordered by their most recent update, so recently used or corrected records stay easy to find.

• Make and model (e.g., "Toyota Camry")
• Year and vehicle age (e.g., "2020 (5 years old)")
• License plate (displayed in the format appropriate for the customer's region)
• VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) if available
• Current mileage (if recorded)
• Date added

To add a vehicle:

1. Click the Add Vehicle button at the top of the Vehicles section.
2. Select the make from the dropdown, or choose "Custom" to enter a make not in the list.
3. Select the model (the list updates based on the make you chose), or enter a custom model.
4. Enter the year.
5. Enter the license plate details for your region.
6. Optionally enter a VIN number.
7. Click Save to add the vehicle.

To edit a vehicle:

1. Find the vehicle in the table.
2. Click the Edit button on that row.
3. Update the details in the dialog that appears.
4. Click Save.

To delete a vehicle:

1. Click the Delete button on the vehicle's row.
2. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Updating mileage:

• If a vehicle already has a mileage recorded, click on the mileage value to edit it inline.
• If no mileage is recorded, click "Add mileage" to enter one.
• You can switch between kilometers (km) and miles (mi).
• Press Enter to save or Escape to cancel.

Searching vehicles:

Use the search bar at the top of the vehicles table to filter by make, model, plate number, or VIN.

Good to know: For UK-registered vehicles, you can expand a vehicle row to see its MOT History. Click "Fetch History" to pull the latest MOT test results from the government database. This shows pass/fail status, mileage readings, expiry dates, and any defects or advisories found during testing.

Bookings Tab

This tab contains two sections: Booking History and OTC Purchase History.

Booking History lists every booking the customer has ever had at your garage.

Each booking shows:

Column	Description
Date	When the booking was scheduled
Job ID	A unique identifier for the booking
Service	The type of service performed
Vehicle	Which vehicle the booking was for
Price	The final price (or estimated price if not yet finalized)
Status	Current booking status (Pending, Confirmed, In-Service, Completed, or Cancelled)

Click the Details button on any booking to navigate directly to that booking's full page.

Use the search bar to filter bookings by service name, vehicle make/model, status, or job ID.

Good to know: The Booking History header shows the total number of bookings and the customer's lifetime spend.

OTC Purchase History shows over-the-counter parts sales made to this customer outside of bookings. Each record shows:

Column	Description
Date	When the sale was made
Part	The item that was sold
Category	The part category
Qty	Quantity sold
Amount	Total price for the line
Sold By	Which team member processed the sale
Reference	A reference number for the transaction

Use the search bar to filter by item name, category, reference, or seller.

Good to know: OTC purchases appear when your garage uses the over-the-counter sales feature in the Inventory module. These are parts sold directly to a walk-in customer without a booking.

Estimates Tab

The Estimates tab lists every current estimate created for the customer, including estimates that are not linked to a booking. Each row shows the estimate reference, date, vehicle, status, total, and linked booking when available.

Use the search box to find an estimate by reference, vehicle, booking, or status. Click Open to review the estimate in the full Estimates workspace.

Attachments Tab

This tab is for storing files related to the customer -- things like warranty documents, ID copies, insurance papers, inspection photos, or any other relevant documents.

What you will see in the attachments table:

Column	Description
Type	The file format (PDF, Image, Word doc, etc.), shown with a color-coded indicator
File Name	Clickable link to download the file
Related Job	If the attachment was uploaded during a booking, it links to that booking
Uploaded On	The date the file was added
Warranty Remaining	The time left on a warranty document, or its expiry state
Actions	Download the file or open the row menu for more actions

To upload a document:

1. Click the Upload Document button above the attachments table.
2. The upload form will appear. Fill in the details and select your file.
3. Submit the form to upload.

To download an attachment:

Click on the file name or the Download button on the row.

To download several attachments together:

1. Select the checkbox beside each attachment you need. The checkbox in the table header selects the attachments on the current page.
2. Click Download selected (X) in the selection bar.
3. autoGMS downloads the selected files as one ZIP file.

You can include up to 50 attachments in one ZIP download.

To delete an attachment:

Open the ... menu in the row's Actions column, click Delete, and confirm when prompted.

You can search attachments by file name, description, or file type.

Good to know: Attachments uploaded during a booking (for example, from the Bay Card during a service) automatically appear here and are linked to the related job. You can click the job number to jump directly to that booking.

Communication Tab

This tab shows recent communication activity recorded for the customer, including:

• Emails (shown with a purple icon)
• SMS messages (shown with a blue icon)
• WhatsApp messages (shown with a green icon)

Each activity entry shows:

Column	Description
Channel	Email, SMS, or WhatsApp
Activity	What happened, plus message or booking context when available
Time	When the activity was recorded
Actions	Open booking when the activity is linked to a booking

Use the channel filter to choose All Channels, Messages (SMS and WhatsApp together), or Email. You can also search the activity history.

Good to know: This is a read-only activity history. When staff click Open WhatsApp from a booking update or booking details, autoGMS records Opened WhatsApp with the booking, service, and vehicle context. This means the WhatsApp draft was opened; it does not confirm that someone pressed Send in WhatsApp. Only opens recorded after this tracking was introduced appear here, so older manual WhatsApp opens are not added retrospectively.

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Business Accounts and Fleet Management

What Are Business Accounts?

Business accounts represent companies, fleet operators, or organizations that bring multiple vehicles to your garage. They are different from individual customers in a few important ways:

• They have a business name in addition to a contact person's name.
• They can have a fleet of many vehicles.
• They have special invoicing tools for consolidated billing.

Accessing Business Accounts

Open the dedicated Business Accounts page for your garage to focus on business clients, fleet vehicles, and invoicing workflows.

What You Will See

The Business Accounts page shows:

Summary cards at the top:

Card	What It Shows
Total Businesses	Number of business accounts
Fleet Vehicles	Total vehicles across all business accounts
Total Bookings	All bookings from business customers
Invoiced	Progress indicator showing how many bookings have been invoiced vs. total, with unbilled revenue highlighted

Business accounts table with columns:

Column	Description
Business	The company name and primary contact person
Vehicles	Number of vehicles registered to this business
Bookings	Total number of bookings
Billing	Invoiced bookings vs. total bookings, with pending count and unbilled amount when applicable
Revenue	Total booking revenue for the business
Status	Whether the business account is active or inactive

Actions on Business Accounts

Each business account row keeps two actions visible in the fixed Actions column:

• Book -- Opens the fleet booking sheet, allowing you to quickly create a new booking for one of the business's vehicles.
• Invoice -- Two modes:
  • If there are unbilled bookings, the button shows "Invoice (X)" where X is the number of unbilled bookings. Clicking it opens a selection window with all unbilled bookings pre-selected; deselect any you do not want before continuing.
  • If there is nothing waiting to be invoiced, the button changes to "Invoices" and takes you to the invoice list filtered for that customer.

Click anywhere else on the row to open the full customer profile. Rows do not expand inside the table.

Filtering Business Accounts

Use the search bar to find business accounts by business name, contact person name, or phone number. Use the invoicing chips for All, Needs invoicing, Fully invoiced, or No bookings, and the account-status filter for active or inactive accounts.

Good to know: A customer becomes a "Business Account" when their account type is set to "Business" and a business name is provided. You can convert an individual customer to a business account by editing their contact information and changing the account type to Business. For registered companies, add the TRN / tax registration number in the same edit form so business invoices can include it automatically.

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Bulk Import Customers

If you are moving to autoGMS from another system or need to add many customers at once, the bulk import feature lets you upload a CSV file with up to 500 customers.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Download the Template

1. On the Customers page, click the Import customers button in the page header.
2. In the import dialog, click Download Template to get a pre-formatted CSV file.
3. Open the template in any spreadsheet application (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.).

Step 2: Fill In Your Data

The template includes the following columns:

Column	Required?	Description
firstName	Yes	Customer's first name
lastName	Yes	Customer's last name
phoneNumber	Yes	Customer's phone number (include country code)
email	No	Email address
accountType	No	"individual" or "business"
businessName	No	Company name (for business accounts)

Fill in your customer data following the template format. Save the file as CSV.

Step 3: Upload and Review

1. Back in the import dialog, drag and drop your CSV file onto the upload area, or click to browse for it.
2. autoGMS will parse and validate your file. You will see:
   • A preview of the first 10 rows.
   • A count of total customers found.
   • Any validation warnings (e.g., missing required fields). Rows with issues will be listed and will be skipped during import.
3. Review the data to make sure it looks correct.

Step 4: Import

1. Click Import X customers to start the import.
2. When complete, you will see a results summary:
   • Created -- New customers that were added.
   • Updated -- Existing customers (matched by phone number) that were updated with new information.
   • Skipped -- Rows that had errors and were not processed.

Good to know: The import uses phone numbers to match existing customers. If a phone number in your CSV already belongs to a customer in your system, that customer's information will be updated rather than creating a duplicate. This makes it safe to re-import an updated file without worrying about duplicates.

Import Limits

• File format: CSV only
• Maximum file size: 5 MB
• Maximum customers per import: 500

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Tips and Best Practices

• Keep customer profiles up to date. When a customer gives you a new phone number or email, update it right away. Accurate contact info is essential for service reminders and marketing messages to reach them.

• Add vehicles before bookings. If a customer brings in a new vehicle, add it to their profile before creating the booking. This keeps the vehicle history clean and connected.

• Use notes wisely. The notes field on the contact information card is a great place to record customer preferences, allergies to certain products, payment arrangements, or anything else the team should know.

• Use business accounts for fleet clients. If a company sends multiple vehicles to your garage, set them up as a Business account. This gives you the consolidated invoicing tools in the dedicated Business Accounts view, making monthly billing much faster.

• Review the communication history before reaching out. Before calling or messaging a customer, check their Communication tab to see recorded email delivery and SMS/WhatsApp activity. Treat Opened WhatsApp as an opened draft, not proof that the message was sent.

• Upload warranty documents. When a customer receives a warranty for parts or services, upload the document to their Attachments section. This way, if they come back with an issue, you can quickly verify if the work is still under warranty.

• Use the pinned-customer feature. If you share a direct link to a customer who is not on the current directory page, they will appear pinned at the top of the sidebar so you do not lose track of who you are viewing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How are customers added to my garage's customer list? A: Customers are added when a booking is created for them, when staff use New customer while creating an estimate, or through bulk import. In each case, autoGMS creates the customer profile for the garage.

Q: Can I manually add a customer without creating a booking? A: Yes. Open Estimates, start a new estimate, click New customer, and add the customer and vehicle. Leave Booking set to No booking to create a standalone estimate. For many customers, use the CSV bulk import.

Q: Can I export customer data? A: Yes. On the Customers page, use search and filters to narrow the list, then click Export beside Filters and Sort. The CSV includes the customers that match your current search, filters, and sort order.

Q: Why can I not see a customer I just added? A: Confirm that you are viewing the same garage where the customer was created, then clear any active search or filters. Customers created at another garage in your organization appear in that garage's customer list instead.

Q: Can technicians access the Customers page? A: The Customers page follows Role Access Control. Owners and admins keep access, and managers, service advisors, receptionists, and custom roles can use it when Customers access is enabled. Technicians cannot open the customer directory or customer profiles.

Q: What happens if I import a customer that already exists? A: The import matches customers by phone number. If a match is found, the existing customer's details are updated with the information from your CSV file. No duplicate is created.

Q: How is "Total Spent" calculated? A: Total Spent is the sum of all completed booking prices for that customer at your garage. Only bookings with a "Completed" status count toward this total. Pending, confirmed, in-service, and cancelled bookings are excluded.

Q: Can I delete a customer? A: Customer deletion is not available from the customer list or profile pages. This is by design -- customer records are linked to bookings, invoices, and other business records. If a customer is no longer active, open their profile and select Deactivate customer. Their history remains available, but they cannot be selected for new bookings, estimates, service plans, or OTC sales. You can reactivate them later.

Q: How do I convert an individual customer to a business account? A: Open the customer's profile, click Edit on the Contact Information card, change the Account Type dropdown from "Individual" to "Business," enter the business name, and click Save Profile.

Q: What file types can I upload as attachments? A: You can upload images (JPG, PNG, GIF), PDFs, Word documents (DOC, DOCX), spreadsheets (XLS, XLSX, CSV), and text files. Each file type is shown with a distinctive color-coded badge in the attachments table.

Q: How do I download multiple customer attachments at once? A: Open the customer's Attachments tab, select the files with the row checkboxes, then click Download selected (X). The header checkbox selects the current page. autoGMS combines up to 50 selected files into one ZIP download.

Q: What is OTC Purchase History? A: OTC (over-the-counter) Purchase History shows parts that were sold directly to a customer without a booking. These sales are recorded through the Inventory module's OTC sales feature. The history appears on the customer profile's Bookings tab, below the regular Booking History.

Q: Can I see which messages failed to deliver? A: Yes. The Communication tab shows delivery status when autoGMS receives it. Failed and bounced messages are marked clearly. Opened WhatsApp is different: it only confirms that the draft was opened, not that WhatsApp sent or delivered it.

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Quick Reference

I want to...	Go here	Do this
View all customers	Sidebar → Customers	Browse the directory list
Find a customer	Search bar in directory	Type customer, business, tax, or vehicle details
View customer profile	Click a customer row	Profile opens in right panel (desktop) or full page (mobile)
Edit customer details	Customer profile → Overview → Edit	Update fields, save
Add a vehicle	Customer profile → Overview → Vehicles → Add Vehicle	Enter make, model, plate
View booking history	Customer profile → Bookings tab	See all past and current bookings
View attachments	Customer profile → Attachments tab	See uploaded documents
View messages	Customer profile → Communication tab	See emails, SMS, WhatsApp history
Filter by type	Expand Filters in directory	Select Individual or Business
Filter by status	Expand Filters in directory	Select Active or Inactive
Filter by vehicle type	Expand Filters in directory	Select one or more vehicle types
Filter by last visit	Expand Filters in directory	Select a time range
Filter by spend	Expand Filters in directory	Select a spend range
Import customers	Import customers button in header	Upload a CSV file
Export customer data	Export beside Filters and Sort	Download the current filtered customer list as CSV
Navigate pages	Pagination bar at bottom of directory	Use previous/next buttons